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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 2003-03-17 Special City of Lake Oswego Planning Commission Minutes Special Meeting March 17, 2003 I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Daniel Vizzini, called the Planning Commission special meeting of Monday, March 17, 2003 to order at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 380 A Avenue, Lake Oswego, Oregon. II. ROLL CALL Commission members present were Chair Daniel Vizzini, Vice Chair Frank Groznik, and Commissioners James Johnson, Alison Webster, Kenneth Sandblast* and Mark Stayer*. Staff present were Dennis Egner, Long Range Planning Manager; Susan Millhauser, Assistant Planner; Evan Boone, Deputy City Attorney; Robert Galante, Director, Lake Oswego Redevelopment Agency and Iris Treinen, Senior Secretary. III. CITIZEN COMMENT – Regarding issues not on the agenda. None. IV. GENERAL PLANNING – WORK SESSION Lake Grove Town Center Plan (P 01-0002) *Commissioners Sandblast and Stayer joined the meeting. Dennis Egner, Long Range Planning Manager, and Susan Millhauser Assistant Planner, presented the staff report. Mr. Egner explained that the City Council planned to implement the Lake Grove Town Center Plan as an urban renewal project. He reported that although there had been good attendance at the most recent public meeting, most of the attendees were new to the process and there had been few comments submitted that related to the diagram depicting transportation connections. He asked the Commissioners to provide direction regarding street connections to help the staff prepare for the next public meeting on April 3, 2003. He observed that the recently completed Boones Ferry Road Corridor Plan addressed the function of the widened roadway, but did not address town center planning. He reported that town center planning had focused on how a commons area and cross streets could serve to link the town center to residential uses. He pointed out locations for new traffic signals, new street connections and pathways. He observed that in order to create “Lake Grove Commons” the nearby grade school, playing fields, bus barn and the post office would City of Lake Oswego Planning Commission Page 1 of 5 Minutes of March 17, 2003 need to be reoriented. He asked if the public streets should feature parking on both sides, one side, or allow no parking. He pointed out potential locations for three new street connections on the east side of Boones Ferry Road that could serve areas of future redevelopment. Ms. Millhauser then presented photographs of the planning area. She reported that area residents were concerned about safety, lighting and crime. She showed photographs of potential locations for mid-block Boones Ferry Road crossings near the McDonald’s restaurant and between Lanewood Street and Reese Road. She explained that if it were not possible to signalize a crossing, it could be constructed with a raised median area to provide a pedestrian refuge during crossings. Robert Galante, Director, Lake Oswego Redevelopment Agency, encouraged the Commissioners to consider the feasibility of the plan and how it might be funded. He suggested that a more realistic approach would be to focus on the neighborhood’s physical and emotional connection to the school and Waluga Park and to plan a town center that could be achieved within the next 15 years. He observed that Douglas Way could serve as a boulevard from Boones Ferry Road to the park and that segment could feature shopping and denser housing. He also observed that Reese Road provided a good connection to residential areas. He predicted that residents would not favor a plan for a grid of streets that would potentially result in more traffic on residential streets, and that residents whose homes fronted on Quarry Road would likely oppose a plan that would install another street along their back yards. He advised that such a plan would require funds for land acquisition and street construction in advance of redevelopment. During the ensuing discussion the Commissioners observed that neighborhood associations in the district were strongly against zone changes, a high percentage of properties in the area were for sale, and Transportation and Growth Management grant project funding would soon run out. The staff anticipated that as the rear of the properties fronting Quarry Road were redeveloped they could be reoriented to face the new internal street and the new street could also provide parking for the playing fields. They asked the Commissioners if the “commons” area public space should be accessed mainly by pedestrian connections, instead of streets, or if access should be closed off and used as public space at certain times and opened for vehicular traffic at other times. They acknowledged that changes at the school site would likely not happen in the near future because they had recently learned from the School District that improvements just completed at the school were intended to extend its life by 30 years. The Commissioners considered a suggestion for a two-phased approach to the “commons” area that would first accomplish 20-year objectives and then longer-term objectives. The staff advised that even if the bus barn could be moved in the shorter term in order to reorient the school, it would be necessary to remove a west wing of the school to accommodate relocated playing fields. Some Commissioners observed that the concept plan did not appropriately respond to public concerns because it focused on new street connections that would encourage more traffic through the neighborhoods, and that the “commons” area might be viewed as an island surrounded by streets and not as part of the neighborhood. Chair Vizzini recalled the Waluga Neighborhood considered the park the heart of their neighborhood City of Lake Oswego Planning Commission Page 2 of 5 Minutes of March 17, 2003 and that the original rationale for new street connections had been that they would provide ways for residents to move around the neighborhood without using Boones Ferry Road. He suggested the Commissioners apprise the project’s technical advisory team of their concerns and allow the team to fashion an appropriate response. Mr. Egner said that the staff had been concerned about how the project could be funded. He explained that the Boones Ferry Road Corridor Plan did not address funding of improvements to side streets. He reported that most of the negative public comments submitted to the staff related to issues connected with how the corridor plan treated access for specific commercial properties along Boones Ferry Road, but the staff had received few negative comments about the land use concept, street connections, and the public commons area. Several Commissioners cautioned the City to be sensitive to residents’ concern about neighborhood character and cut-through traffic, and to eliminate most suggested new street segments. However, they acknowledged that suggested connections that linked Bryant Road to Boones Ferry Road behind the Wizers’ store and that paralleled Quarry Road in an area where future redevelopment could face the new street and the school might be useful. Commissioner Sandblast endorsed Mr. Galante’s suggestion to strengthen neighborhood ties to the park and to focus on redevelopment of mixed-use areas. He predicted that parking would be an important issue in the district. The Commissioners discussed whether to direct the project’s technical advisory team to fashion a two-phased (shorter- and longer-term) plan, in which the future “commons” space would be developed in the latter phase. They observed that rising traffic levels along Quarry Road could encourage redevelopment to turn to face a new internal street. They observed that the suggested connecting segment behind the Wizers’ store could be a new street or an alley. When Mr. Galante observed that most of the Commissioners seemed to accept the plan for a new street segment between Douglas Way and Oakridge Road (suggested Connections G and E), he cautioned them that the cost of infrastructure could be much higher than the value of new development there. Commissioner Sandblast suggested that segment could be an alley instead of a street. Others observed that connectivity in the neighborhood would be improved if the sidewalks were connected and if it was easier to cross Boones Ferry Road. The Commissioners then examined each suggested connection. Mr. Egner explained that the connection through Shon Tay (I) was shown over the existing driveway and the Engineering Department had advised that there could not be a signal on Boones Ferry Road where that segment met Segment C. The Commissioners agreed that a pedestrian connection should be planned along the existing Shon Tay driveway to serve the pedestrians the staff had observed walking there. They also agreed that if a crossing were to be installed on Boones Ferry Road to connect Segments C and I it must feature a safer, signalized crosswalk and not just a pedestrian refuge island. When they discussed connections in the area of the school they noted that Connection A accessed the school site and the intersection at Connection A and Boones Ferry Road would feature a signal. They agreed A should be a street. They discussed whether the future commons area, Connection B should be a street or an alley. The Commission agreed that Connection B was not necessary. After they observed that a connecting segment City of Lake Oswego Planning Commission Page 3 of 5 Minutes of March 17, 2003 (H) to Hallmark Drive might encourage drivers to use it to cut through to Mercantile Drive and then to Kruse Way, they recognized that the winding nature of the Drive tended to reduce vehicle speeds. They also noted there were wetland areas in the Mercantile Village area that could pose a challenge to connections. They agreed that Segments C and D around the post office should be pedestrian connections, but that the connection that continued south from D across Oakridge Road and through the Garden Center should be eliminated. They agreed to eliminate suggested Connection F. They agreed that Connections G and E should form an alleyway with a pedestrian walkway and that it should be improved by future redevelopment of lots currently oriented toward Quarry Road. They agreed to retain the pedestrian connection that extended south from Segments G and E and met Boones Ferry Road near Ricardo’s Restaurant. When they examined suggested connections on the east side of Boones Ferry Road they agreed that Segment J should be an alleyway. They discussed suggestions to make Segment K (behind Wizers’) either a one-way-out alley or to make it a right-turn only connection at Bryant and Boones Ferry Road. They agreed it should only be a local street if it has a signal at its intersection with Boones Ferry Road. The Commissioners then examined each of the rest of the pedestrian pathways and sidewalks on the plan and prioritized them for the staff. Chair Vizzini observed a consensus to support a signalized pedestrian crossing of Boones Ferry Road near the McDonald’s restaurant. The Commissioners discussed the Land Use Concept Plan. The staff advised that the “Village Mixed Use” designation had not yet been defined. The Commissioners and the staff observed the Albertsons’ store site and the recently redeveloped property north of it should both be designated as “Business Corridor.” When the Commissioners discussed the area of the post office, school and future commons area they considered combining two or all three designations into one “public” or “civic use” designation, but finally decided to change only the post office site designation to “public.” They observed that the post office site might become a public space at some future time. They agreed to leave the designation of land south of Boones Ferry Road between Lanewood and Reese Road as “Village Mixed Use.” They examined the north portion of the district and discussed how tall buildings there should be. The staff advised that the height limit was 45 feet in the General Commercial (GC) zone and that some buildings along Kruse Way were as high as 60 feet. The Commissioners then agreed that land north of Mercantile Drive and Galewood was to be designated Employment Corridor and the area on the south side of Mercantile Drive was to be considered a transition area where development would start to step down toward the south. The Commissioners observed two areas along Boones Ferry Road where parcels would be split-zoned: at the Chevron property at Oakridge Road and in the vicinity of the Papa Aldo’s store. Mr. Egner observed that mixed use was typically pedestrian oriented and business corridor use was typically vehicle oriented, and he advised that GC allowed, but did not require, residential use. He suggested there could be design restrictions (perhaps a mixed use design overlay of the GC zone) instead of a zone change in these areas to ensure redevelopment stepped down toward the neighborhoods. The Commissioners observed there was no signal planned at Douglas Way/Boones City of Lake Oswego Planning Commission Page 4 of 5 Minutes of March 17, 2003 City of Lake Oswego Planning Commission Page 5 of 5 Minutes of March 17, 2003 Ferry Road. They agreed to change the Business Corridor designation on the east side of that intersection to Village Mixed Use. V. OTHER BUSINESS None. VI. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, Chair Vizzini adjourned the meeting at 7:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Iris Treinen Senior Secretary